Medicaid enrollment by eligibility group 2013-2018

There were approximately 28.1 million children enrolled in the Medicaid health care program in 2018, which accounted for nearly 40 percent of the total number of 74 million Medicaid enrollees. Enrollment numbers in each of the four groups have been consistent for several years.

Medicaid expenditure by eligibility group

Medicaid is a joint federal and state health care program in the United States. States administer the program, but they must meet some core federal requirements, one of which includes providing health coverage to children in some low-income families. Medicaid expenditure on children was estimated to have totaled 107.2 billion U.S. dollars in 2017, which accounted for nearly 20 percent of the total expenditure during the year – the only enrollment group with a larger share of expenditures was persons with disabilities.

Health insurance options for children

The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) was signed into U.S. law in 1997 and increased health coverage to uninsured children under the age of 19 who were not eligible for Medicaid. States can implement CHIP by expanding Medicaid or operating it as a separate program. More than 9.6 million children were enrolled in the program during 2018, around two million of whom were in the state of California.